El Cajon moves to curtail alcohol sales

EL CAJON  A standing-room-only crowd of 250 --- with dozens more spilling out the doors --- filled the El Cajon City Council chambers Tuesday night as the council debated for nearly three hours a major overhaul of its alcohol-sales policies for liquor stores in the city.

The council voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance that it says will provide better control of alcohol sales in the city. The law, known as a deemed approved ordinance, will affect those businesses that sell to underage buyers, serial inebriates and people listed on a "do not sell" list. The passage of the ordinance makes it the first city in San Diego County and the 21st in California, to have such a plan for stores selling liquor. The ordinance will go into effect Nov. 1.

"When do we say enough is enough?" City Councilman Gary Kendrick said. "When one child's life is ruined? When 50 mothers check their children into rehab? Let's not appease the guilty at the expense of the innocent. We're in for a new day. Let's make a change, and a change for the better. Everybody in the county, every city is watching El Cajon right now. This will be the kiss of life for these businesses."

The city's Planning Commission on Aug. 12 had unanimously recommended the adoption of the ordinance. The ordinance requires land use permits for newly established businesses that sell alcohol. It confers approval on all existing legally established businesses that sell alcoholic beverages for consumption off site, but it also provides standards and a hearing process to review violations of those standards --- and to prevent nuisance activities where alcohol sales occur.

Because the state's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is so overwhelmed with duties, a policy like this is needed in the city, both City Manager Doug Williford and Police Chief Jim Redman said.

"My No. 1 concern is public safety; if anyone sells to kids they should be put out of business. Period," Neighborhood Market Association President and CEO Mark Paul Arabo told the council. He said he was in agreement with 98 percent of the ordinance but wanted modifications and was concerned about what he termed "government overreach" and noted that it was wrong "to frame evil liquor stores as villains... we should be uniters not dividers."

Arabo said that after the second reading of the ordinance in two weeks, the association would look into filing a lawsuit "to protect the business climate in this city."

The council's vote was made after 40 people spoke, most supporting the ordinance. The speakers weighed in after a lengthy presentation by Williford, a report about public nuisance crimes by Redman, a full briefing about the ordinance by Planning Manager Manjeet Ranu (including a fixed cost of $25,000 annually for routine administration of the ordinance) and information about the types of enforcement and due process explained by City Attorney Morgan Foley.

The council will consider a separate resolution on a potential fee to be proposed along with the second reading of the ordinance, Ranu said. That fee could fall on store owners. The plan is for the ordinance to cover two years and "will be looked at again at that time to make sure it's working smoothly so no one gets hurt," City Councilman Bill Wells said.